


its the scruff (and the muscles)

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25672774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Nile gets a crush and Nicky's a tease
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 34
Kudos: 579





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Old Guard Prompt where a year after Merrick after Nile has a few missions under her belt, Andy takes her off for more training, leaving J&N to their own devices. 6 months later they meet up, and Nicky has a scruffy face that throws Nile for a loop. Fresh off a fling w/a smart hot scientist lady, and much to her own annoyance, she develops a crush on scruffy Nicky. Andy is amused, Nicky is flattered, Joe is put out but 100% approving of her taste. I mean, have you seen Luca with some scruff??????

Andy barely has time to hug Nicky and Joe before Nile is pulling her outside with a hissed, “I need to talk to you.”

She looks to Nicky and Joe with a raised eyebrow but the only response she gets is a pleased flush on Nicky’s face and a wide grin on Joe’s. A moment later, the door closes between them and Nile sounds almost frantic. “I need your help.”

Andy smoothly transitioned to her familiar leadership role. “What happened?” 

Nile looked at the closed door with a grimace. “Nicky.”

Andy looked at the door then back at Nile. “What about him?” She didn’t think for a second that Nicky had done anything to Nile but the young woman seemed distressed. If she hadn’t seen Nicky, and a very relaxed Joe, just a second ago Andy might have been worried for him but as it was, she knew he was fine. “Nile?”

“He, uh,” Nile cleared her throat. “He looks different. Than the last time we saw each other.”

Andy blinked, trying to picture how Nicky had looked then. It was hard to keep track, sometimes, of exactly how their appearances changed from mission to mission. She knew his hair was long enough to cover his ears and he hadn’t shaved in a while and she was fairly confident his hair had been shorter the last time they’d met but she couldn’t be positive. “What about it?”

Nile cast another look at the closed door and suddenly Andy got it. “Really? Nicky?” Nile looked genuinely distressed.

“It’s not like it’s a choice!” 

Andy laughed. “You’ll get over it.” She reached for the door to get back inside. Nile shot out a hand to stop it from opening.

“What about _Joe_?” Nile hissed. 

Andy arched an eyebrow. “Joe doesn’t care.” She stopped to consider that for a moment. “Well, he approves of your taste but other than that he doesn’t care.” 

Nile scoffed. “He doesn’t care?”

“Nile,” Andy huffed. “They’ve literally been together for over 900 years. Joe is very secure in his relationship and he’s not bothered by other people finding Nicky attractive. You’re fine.” She smirked. “It’s Nicky I’d be more worried about.”

“Why?” Nile asked slowly.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Andy assured her. Nile’s hand was still on the door but Andy knocked it aside and yanked the door open. When she went inside, Nile stayed behind. 

She found Nicky and Joe in the kitchen. Nicky was cooking something and barely glanced at her when she walked in but Joe looked over at her with a look of sheer delight. “Is she okay?”

Andy rolled her eyes. “She was worried you’d be mad at her,” Andy told him.

Joe looked offended. “I am not the one she should be worried about.”

“That’s what I told her!” Andy laughed. The back door creaked open and Nile’s footsteps approached the kitchen.

“Oh no!” Nicky said in obvious faux shock. “I spilled sauce on my shirt.” And he proceeded to take his shirt off. It ruffled his long hair as he pulled it off over his head and he ran a hand through it just as Nile stepped into the room.

“Oh come _on_ ,” she whined. She spun away with Andy and Joe’s laughter chasing her. 

Joe stood up and crowded Nicky against the counter, not wasting any time getting his lips on Nicky’s bare skin. Andy rolled her eyes and left the room only to find Nile lying on the sofa with her arm over her face. “They suck,” she whined.

Andy couldn’t deny it. “You’ll get over it.”


	2. Joe's turn

Nile honestly wasn’t sure how to react. She tried not to get flustered, even though it was hopeless, and she tried to ignore it, even though it was impossible. The problem was Nicky and the fact that the man was a goddamn tease.

Nile would hate him for it a little bit more if she wasn’t absolutely sure it was at least half, if not more, for Joe’s benefit than for hers. 

In the two months since regrouping as a team and the emergence of Nile’s truly unfortunate crush on Nicky, the man had taken to flaunting his attributes around her. Sometimes this meant he’d do yoga in the living room and sometimes he’d go running at different times every day so Nile could never predict when he’d be back and so make herself scarce, but it always meant the lack of a shirt. It wasn’t any better when he was fully clothed, however. He’d started teaching Nile Italian and his voice got to her in ways she didn’t appreciate. He knew it, too. 

But the worst, the _worst_ , was last week when he realized his hair had gotten long enough to tie up in a small bun. Nile had never had a thing for men with longer hair before and she would have been just fine keeping it that way.

Unfortunately, Joe seemed to like the bun and the long hair even more than she did and Nile didn’t foresee it going anywhere any time soon.

Still, Nile thought she had it well in hand. Sure, she had less than platonic feelings for her much older, very much married coworker of sorts and sure she had to endure his endless friendly teasing, and that of his husband, but she was dealing with it. 

And then she walked out to the back patio one morning before breakfast and felt her brain literally turning to mush. 

Joe had a hold of the edge of the roof, his hands cupped backwards so that he faced away from the house, and was doing some sort of leg lift that worked his core muscles _phenomenally_. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his shorts were small enough that Nile could see some kind of ink on his thighs.

“That’s just not fair,” she did not whimper.

Joe laughed softly, his attention mostly caught on his exercise, but it was the louder laughter to her right that made Nile freeze. Slowly she turned to see Nicky, his hair half up in a bun that was falling out and wearing only what looked like Joe’s sweatpants, and Andy in her standard lounge wear that Nile would absolutely steal if she didn’t know that Andy would literally kill her over it, sitting on the patio furniture watching Joe. Nicky barely spared her a glance before his eyes were back on Joe but Andy looked at her, a definite twinkle in her eyes. “Problem, Nile?”

Nile waved a helpless hand at where Joe was _still_ hanging off the roof in all his muscled glory and then at where Nicky looked like he’d just rolled out of bed after a very successful night. Andy grinned. “You get used to it.” Nile scoffed in disbelief. Andy held up a beer when Nile came to sit next to her and Nile took it, not caring where it had come from. Nicky stretched obnoxiously on Andy’s other side at the same time that Joe did something that made his already short shorts ride up even higher on his thighs. 

“Assholes,” Nile mumbled. She was clearly not quiet enough from the twin grins that erupted on Joe’s and Nicky’s faces. Andy only laughed at her again.

“Seriously, though,” Andy told her. “You get used to it. Better yet, you embrace it.” Nile raised an eyebrow. “Just think Nile. A lifetime of a free show.” She waggled her eyebrows at Joe. “And they’re happy to put it on for us.”

“It’s always nice to know that one’s hard work is appreciated,” Joe commented mildly.

“What, Nicky doesn’t show you enough appreciation?” Nile replied before she could stop herself. 

Joe laughed. “Oh he does. But it’s always possible that he’s become a bit biased over the years so a second opinion is appreciated.”

“Well,” Nile cleared her throat. “You two just let me know whenever you need a consult. I’ll be happy to help.”

Andy clinked their beers together and saluted her with it before the three of them sat back to enjoy the rest of Joe’s workout.


End file.
